5.3. SR 11-09-2009ITEM 5.3.
MEMORANDUM
To; Mayor and City Council
FROM; Jeffrey A, Beahen, Chief of Police
DATE: October 21, 2449
SUBJECT: Alarm permit fees
I will he in attendance at the Novemhe~ 9~~' Council Meeting to discuss alarm permit fees. ~
have attached the letter we send to alarm holders as well as a recent article ~ the Minnesota
Police Chief s magazine this month .reference alarm calls. Both of these items of reference
will help you u~.derstand the purpose and structure behind our alarm fees,
I will be happy to answer any questions you have about the fees on the 9t''.
REDUCING FALSE ALARM DISPATCHES
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y Wendy Makousky, WN lnter~~a~~anal Response and Glen Mowre , Chief De_ ~~~ ~ ~_ _ ._. _ ~ ~ f~ ~~r
y p y ~Ret,~, Charlot~e~Mecklenburg, NC, PD; SIAC
~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~e~~ ~~~ police Association ,~~ C '
~ hiefs~,
~~~ the ~~~~~~~~~ ~`~~~~ic Security and ~'echnolo
~cia~~~ ~"~~ ~f.~`~'A~ ve formed gY
~ an Alarm
,Manage~~. ~mlftee fo held departments seek new
ways to ,~~~~~ ~sfs and find additional revenue sources,
Across t~e ~~~,~~~, law enforcement agencies are
discoveri,~ ~ ~~ way of reslaondin to monitored
g alarm
systems ~~~ ~~e~~,~ rnmunifies that increases the olice
de~partn~e~~ ~ ~ `sheriff's office ' ' p
s effzcrenc~es and
generates ~~~~~~~al revenue.
The MN C~t;.~~~ ,.,t c~ ~=,~NESTA have partnered with the Securit
y
Industry ~ ~~-~ ~~~ ~ ~~lltian ~SIAC) to work with local governments
and their ~~ rr ,~ ~ sir; ~-:~ rnent departments to assist in the
r
reduct~or ~~= ~~,; ~1~ ~~~~patches, Minnesota is one of 13 scat
es
that have an r'~~ f~.~; iT`; r l?nagement Committee, Work is bein
done at the national level with the Natio g
nil Sheriffs'Association
NSA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police ~IACP), the
international Gty and County Managers Association ~ICMA},and
the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials,
International MAPCO} to assist with the reduction of false alarms
dispatches,
MN ChrefsAlarm Management Committee chair, Saint Peter
Police Chief Matt Peters states; "The public continues to demand
higher levels of security~for their homes as well as businesses, As
we see this increase in the number of alarms installed by the
public, we also tend to see more false alarms. In these da s of
dwindling resoufces, workin coo erativ y
g p ely Mth the alarm
industry is essential, A successful alarm ordinance can help
reduce operating costs because you will see the reduction of
false alarm dispatches, An ordinance can be fashioned to
suspend police response to alarm abusers or in other cases allow
for cost recovery! This reduction offalse alarms is also a serious
safety issue for responding street cops, Once false alarms are
reduced they now know they are responding to the real deal,
This certainly wrll lessen responding officer complacent
Y
As discussed in an earlier Minnesota police Chiefarticle, the
committee formulated a resolution which jointly supported
Enhanced Call Verification ECV}, ECV requires alarm tom anies
to attempt to veri an alarm b call' p
fY y ing the site and the alarm
user by telephone to determine whether an alarm signal is valid
before requesting dispatch, Telephone verification shalt re wire
as a rnin~mum, that a second call be mad q r
e to a different number,
ifthe first attempt fails to reach an alarm user who can ro erl
identify themselves in an ahem t to p p y
p determinewhetheran
alarm signal is valid, except in the case of apanic orrobber -in-
progressalarm, or incases where acrime-i - y
n progress has been
verified by video and/or audible means, In jurisdictions where
ECV has been implemented, up tosixty-percent sustained
reductions have been realized, N1N Chiefs and MNESTA assed
the resolution at their membershi me p
the NS p et+n9s, Both the IACP and
A have passed ECV resolutions,
The committee's next step was to develop a model Alarm
Ordinance, Asa guide, thecommittee used a model ordinance
jointly developed by the IACP's Private Sector Liaison Committee
and the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association ~BNFAA},The
committee's recommended ordinance which included
registration guidelines, a graduated fine structure, new
equipment standards,suspension of response to chronic abusers
Fall 2009
15
REDUCING FALSE ALARM DISPATCHES
i
and an appeal process was presented to the MN Chiefs Board of
Directors for adoption by resolution, The reso ution was passed
with the recommendation that local and state agencies use the
Model Ordinance in deve opmentand/or revising of their existing
a an~n ordinance,The model ordinance is a component of an
overall A arm Management Program which ins odes cost
recovery and an educational campaign, The Model Ordinance
promotes awareness, consistency and an ease of imp ementation
along with follow through enforcement,
Resources have been developed foryour agency, The
committee developed an Alarm User Brochure that is availabe in
quantities for distribution to CLEDs'communities, for officers to
provide to crime victims and use during Crime i'reventian
meetings,There is also a power point presentation available that
may be used as part of alarm user's education awareness classes,
The classes are used as a preventative measure or can be
required for recurring false alarms, Committee members are
available to speak at regional or department meetings and wi
offer information on alarm user's sasses, Members can assist
departments with a arm ordinance and fa se alarm information,
The committee has created a mission statement: "A Minnesota
Chiefs and A arm Industry partnership centered on so ving
problems and supporting safe communities;' The committee will
continue to provide you with valuable information and resources
to assist you with ordinance and a arm information, P ease
contact MN Chiefs for any assistance,
MN Chiefs Alarm Mai~agemei~tCommittee Members;
Chief Scott Knight, Chaska PD
Chief Matt Peters, Saint Peter PD
Chief Rodney Seurer, Savage PD
Sheriff Dean A bets, Goodhue County
Guy Adams, Heartland Security, Melrose
Tim Davis, Peop e's Security Company, Brainerd
Wendy Makousky,WH lnternationa Response
Glen Mowrey, Chief Deputy ~Ret~
Charlotte~Mecklenburg ~NC7 PD; S AC
Ex-Officio ~ Harlan Johnson
executive Director of the
Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association
MIVESTA is an alarm industry association comprised of installation
and monitoring companies, mal~ufacturers and distributors serving
the alarm industry MIUES~A works with its members on licensing,
training and legislative issues that impact t1~e security industry,
members and customers, MIUESTA ofFers a scf~olarship program to
t1~e children ofactive duty police, fire and ElV?Tpersonnel in support of
their important public service, Please visit their website at
www,mnesta,org for more information on the association and
scholarship opportunities,
~6 MINNESOTA POLICE CHIEF
City of
Elk ~'
River
Police Department
13077 Orano Parkway
ilk Rives; MN 55330
]efff{ey A. Beallen
~~l.ie~ o~ Po~iCe
Ro~erfi ~, Klunfi~
Adminisfirative Captain
~~~adley R. Rolfe
patrol Captain
B~~yan vita
Detective Sergeant
,~effrey ~zordal
Ron Nierenha~sen
David Dummef~
Daniel Block
Patio[ SeI'geants
Michelle Masica
SLlpp41't Ser~~ICes 5up~!
October 20, 2009
TCF
1921 ~ Freeport St Nw
Elk River MN 55330
Re: City of Elk River Alarm ordinance
The Elk River Police Department recently responded to your business or residence
on an alarm call. ~n the later part of 2008, the City of Elk River adopted a new alarm
ordinance that has several requirements for those businesses ar ~•esidences that have
alarm systems,
The first requirement, is that your alarm company is required to utilize a two call
system to verify that the alarm is not false, The first call is to the business ar
residence, the second is to a ley holder or responsible party, Studies have shown
that these calls will often reduce if not eliminate most false alarm calls. These calls
will not significantly delay police response, as alarm monitoring companies a~•e
equipped to make these tails in a very short period of time,
The police department responds to over 1,1 a0 false alarms each year, our hope is
that this two call system will greatly reduce the number of false alai*ms, saving our
resources for response to other calls for service,
The second requirement, is that all alarm systems in the City-must have an alarm
permit from the City, Tlaese are a onetime issue permit, with a cost of $20, The
permit will help the police department be aware of alarm types and coverage areas,
as well as key holder information, so we respond moxe effectively to alarms at your
location in tl~e future.
To deter continuing false alarms, there is a fine schedule which will be imposed on
those locations where alarms continue to send false trips, ~t is under°stood. that some
alarms will ring for valid reaso~as, or due to weather or other uncontrolled issues
Phnne. 763.G3~,~2G0
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may still sound, T1~ose alarms will not be counted toward any yearly totals for
purposes of imposing fines,
we have included in this packet, an alarm permit request fo~~n, and a copy of the
new alarm ordinance for your review, Please review the information and contact our
office if you have any questions concerning this matter,
As this is the first alarm at your location in 2009, you are required to submit the
permit application form and submit it with a checl~ payable to the City of Elk River
for $20 within the next thirty days, Failure to do so will result in a $100 fine against
you or your company,
Please contact me if you have any questions concerning this matter.
Sincerely,
Je , Beahen
Chief of Police
Enclosures;
Alarm ordinance
Alarm Permit Application
Please Remit:
^ X20 Permit Pee'', Payable to City of EIk River ~l~ue Now}
~A $104 penaity is assessed if not paid within 3o days,
^ Permit Applicatzonxx
~ Permit issued upon receipt o~ payment.
City of ~11~ R.iver Business Alarm Permit .A.pplication
Business Name:
Business Address:
Je~Fx~ey A. Beaher~
Business Phone;
ChEef of Police
Type of Business;
R~be~~t E Kluntz
Administrative Captain
Alarm l~ionitorin~ Company:
B~~adley R. Rabe ., ~ ,.,_. ,..,...,. ,_,_~,..._ .,,~,.,,
Patrol Captain ,Alarm Company Phone Number:
B~~ya~~ Vita
Detective Sergeant Type of Alarm Check all that apply};
Jerfeey Mordal Motion Detector; boor and window Break; Panic:
Rail Nierenhausen Robbery: safe or Cash Drawer. Roof Hatch:
David Du~~tnez~ Multiple hones: silent alarm only:
Daniel Bloch Combination silent and audible: Audible alarm only;
Patrol Sergeants
special concerns on premises Chemicals, hazards, safety issues:
Michelle Masica
Support Services Supv
~~eyholders to be notified for problems at yaur location:
Name: Number;
Cell:
Name: Number:
Cell:
Name: Number:
~ , ~ .,~...,._
. ,..... ~.
Cell;
Permit Nun~be~; issued;
Phone; 7~3.63S.1Z~0 B
y. Paid;
fax: 7~3.~3~.1254
~~~~w.ci.ell~~river,mn,us